Memory expert Ron White to provide EXPO’s Keynote Address

ED EXPO News by Dave Manack

Tuesday, August 22, Noon to 1 pm

In the hospitality industry, few things are as important to great customer service as memory — customer’s names, drink orders, preferences. At EXPO 2023, world-renowned memory expert Ron White will tell guests how they can drastically increase their ability to remember key information.

dult nightclubs offer a very specific type of entertainment; specifically, gorgeous entertainers in various stages of undress. But is nudity really at the core of what adult clubs provide? Many would argue that, above all else, clubs provide customer service and great hospitality — or, at least, they should.

One key component to great customer service is providing a personal touch, whenever possible, to your club’s guests. That includes calling them by their name: “Hey Steve, great to see you here again!”

But that’s easier said than done — right? World-renown memory expert Ron White disagrees. In fact, Ron can meet 150 people in a 10-minute span and remember each of their names — yes, really. And he’s going to tell EXPO 2023 attendees how they can drastically improve their memory (and, by extension, their ability to provide great customer service) during his Keynote Address on Tuesday, August 22.

“Everyone likes to feel important, everyone likes to feel seen and valued,” says White. “So what does it mean to a guest when they come in your club, you’re introduced to them, and 20 minutes later you remember their name? Or the next time they come in your club, you still remember their name? There’s a great quote (by Maya Angelou) that says, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’”

White is a two-time national memory champion winning the USA Memory Championship, and for two years he held the record for the fastest to memorize a a deck of shuffled cards in only one minute and 27 seconds. Over the past three decades, Ron has even appeared on such shows as Good Morning America, Martha Stewart Show, FOX and Friends, the CBS Evening News, CBS Early Show, FOX, NBC and newspapers across the country from the New York post to the Dallas Morning News.

We had the chance to speak with White about his upcoming EXPO 2023 Keynote Address, what skills attendees can expect to walk away with, and what any person can do to improve their memory skills.

Everyone likes to feel important, everyone likes to feel seen and valued. So what does it mean to a guest when they come in your club, you’re introduced to them, and 20 minutes later you remember their name? Or the next time they come in your club, you still remember their name?

– Ron White

ED: Why is it so hard for many people to remember names, when they might have a much easier time remembering faces?

WHITE: The key to remembering names is to have a “picture” for it. The fact is, you remember a face because you saw the face; you don’t remember a name because you never “saw” the name. For example, your name is Dave. I immediately think of a cave. Somebody’s gonna say his name is Steve. I immediately think of stove. Somebody’s gonna say their name is Lisa. I immediately think of the Mona Lisa.

ED: Are there mental exercises people can do to help their memory? Specific things people can to do “build their brain” or flex those mental muscles?

WHITE: Number one, good nutrition and exercise, and drink plenty of water because a dehydrated brain can’t focus. Number two, pay attention to being focused and being present when you meet people. And number three, create images for the names of the people you meet. Build a mental database.

ED: You’ll be providing this Keynote Address at our EXPO in Las Vegas. Your presentation sounds as if it has enough of a “wow factor” to be a Vegas show! Have you ever considered this? And how do you handle those who are skeptical of you, perhaps suggesting this is some sort of “gimmick”?

WHITE: I’ve had three or four different people approach me about business ideas to do it as a Vegas show. That’s just how fun it is! Now I’ve never done it as a Vegas show, but the fact that three people have approached me and we’ve at least had the initial conversations shows you how fun it is. But as far as the skeptics, there are people who hear “memory expert” and they’re sitting there with their arms crossed waiting to be impressed. After the first three minutes of my presentation they may still be skeptics, but they’re saying to themselves, “How the hell did he just do that?”

ED: I’ve noticed that during our conversation, the word “fun” has come up several times. Not only will you be providing extremely valuable memory training for those in hospitality and customer service, but it will be done in a fun and exciting way that’s gonna get people talking.

WHITE: A guy made a comment at one of my seminars recently; he said, “Ron, we knew we were getting a memory expert, we didn’t know we were getting a comedy show!” And I think that is a real good description of my talk, because it is going to be a lot of fun. And it should be, because laughter helps your memory.

ED: At what point did you kind of know you had a special skill that you could do for a living and be really well known for it? When did you know you’d become a “world-renown memory expert”?

WHITE: About 10 years ago National Geographic did a show called “Brain Games.” I had been the USA Memory Champion, but at that point I no longer held any memory records. But then Brain Games called me. And when I got there, the producer said, “Do you know why we selected you? Because you come across in a very “Middle America,”every-man sort of way. You don’t sound like some academic elite. That’s my special ability, that’s my unique ability. There are guys who can memorize faster, there are guys who held more records, but there are very few that can stand on a stage, memorize 200 names in the audience, make the audience laugh the entire time, and explain it in a very simple way. My greatest gift is that I can explain it in a simple way that anybody can understand.